world

Democrats question anti-terror proposal

By Alyson Brodsy and Jesse J. Holland · Tuesday, Feb. 11,2003 12:51 a.m.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Democrats asked the Justice Department Monday to explain reports that it plans to ask Congress to expand an anti-terrorism law to increase surveillance while restricting access to information and limiting judicial review.

Dissident given life in prison

By Audra Ang · Monday, Feb. 10,2003 11:49 p.m.

BEIJING -- A U.S.-based Chinese dissident was convicted Monday and sentenced to life in prison on charges of spying and terrorism, ending a bizarre saga that involved allegations of cross-border kidnapping and hostages found tied up in a temple. Outraged activists rejected the charges against Wang Bingzhang as false and politically motivated.

Charity head found guilty

By Mike Robinson · Monday, Feb. 10,2003 11:48 p.m.

CHICAGO -- The head of an Islamic charity linked by federal prosecutors to Osama bin Laden pleaded guilty Monday to racketeering charges but did not admit any connection to the terrorist mastermind.

Hussein sets soldiers for war

By Will Lester · Monday, Feb. 10,2003 11:47 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is prepositioning military troops in civilian areas to use them as shields in the event of war, a White House official said Monday. Spokesman Scott McClellan, accompanying President Bush on a trip to Nashville, Tenn., cited intelligence information but did not elaborate. He said Bush would present the allegations in a speech later Monday to a convention of religious broadcasters.

Baghdad OKs U-2 flights

By Charles J. Hanley · Monday, Feb. 10,2003 2:45 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq approved U-2 surveillance flights on Monday -- a key demand of inspectors searching for banned weapons -- as major European countries sought to slow the march to a military showdown.

Pakistan angry with FBI agents' presence

By Alyson Brodsy and Paul Haven · Monday, Feb. 10,2003 12:13 a.m.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Hard-line Islamic clerics say American agents swooped in on three Islamic schools in the capital last month, breaking down doors, blindfolding a cook and peppering him with questions about alleged terror links, then disappeared as quickly as they came.

Pope sends special envoy to Baghdad

By Alyson Brodsy and Nicole Winfield · Monday, Feb. 10,2003 12:12 a.m.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II will send a special envoy to Iraq to emphasize his appeal for peace and to encourage Iraqi authorities to cooperate with the United Nations, the Vatican announced Sunday.

Iran discovers uranium deposits

By Alyson Brodsy and Ali Akbar Dareini · Monday, Feb. 10,2003 12:11 a.m.

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran said Sunday it discovered uranium reserves and was setting up production facilities for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. President Mohammad Khatami said Iran was "determined to make use of advanced nuclear technology for peaceful purposes" after announcing that researchers discovered uranium reserves in central Iran near Yazd and established production facilities in nearby Isfahan and Kashan.

UN talks with Iraq

By Alyson Brodsy and Hamza Hendawi · Monday, Feb. 10,2003 12:10 a.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The U.N. chief weapons inspectors emerged from key talks with Iraq officials Sunday, saying they saw signs of a "change of heart" from Baghdad over disarmament demands and that further U.N. inspections were preferable to a quick U.S.-led military strike.

Ice may have formed on wing of Columbia

By Alyson Brodsy and Paul Recer · Monday, Feb. 10,2003 12:08 a.m.

SPACE CENTER, Houston -- Investigators are searching for evidence that a block of ice big enough to damage Columbia's wing may have formed on a waste water vent, a problem that plagued an earlier shuttle flight.

Powell tells senators Iraqi conclusion near

By Barry Schweid · Friday, Feb. 7,2003 1:04 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Colin Powell told senators Thursday that "within weeks" the Iraqi situation will be brought to a conclusion "one way or another."

Congress debates North Korea

By Ron Fournier · Thursday, Feb. 6,2003 11:36 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- The United States has "robust plans for any contingencies" involving North Korea, including military action, the White House said Thursday amid a flurry of criticism from Democrats and talk of war from Pyongyang.

Iraq says scientist allows private interview with inspectors

By Hamza Hendawi · Thursday, Feb. 6,2003 2:17 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi arms expert submitted to a private interview with U.N. weapons inspectors Thursday, a top Iraqi official said hours after the top U.N. nuclear inspector demanded a "drastic change" to improve Iraq's cooperation.

Powell pressures UN, says Iraq hasn't disarmed

By Alyson Brodsy and Edith M. Lederer · Thursday, Feb. 6,2003 2:17 p.m.

UNITED NATIONS -- Secretary of State Colin Powell, relying on a stream of U.S. intelligence, urged the U.N. Security Council Wednesday to move against Saddam Hussein because Iraq has failed to disarm, harbors terrorists and hides behind a "web of lies."

Yugoslavia ends in some sadness

By Alyson Brodsy and Jovana Gec · Thursday, Feb. 6,2003 1:38 a.m.

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro -- Officials faced the difficult work of institution-building Wednesday after reshaping the troubled nation of Yugoslavia into a new country with a new name. Residents greeted the change with little enthusiasm. Serbia and Montenegro, as the country now is called, is all that is left after a decade of war that broke Yugoslavia into pieces. A European Union-brokered accord approved by parliament on Tuesday leaves the two republics only loosely united, and they could break up for good as early as 2006.

NASA report warned debris could damage tiles

By Alyson Brodsy and Paul Recer · Thursday, Feb. 6,2003 12:36 a.m.

SPACE CENTER, Houston -- A technical report warned at least nine years ago that space shuttles could be destroyed if tiles protecting critical wing parts were damaged by debris, but NASA engineers never found a complete solution for the safety soft spot. Now the failure of the tiles is a leading theory for the catastrophic end of Columbia.

Powell presents case to persuade reluctant allies that Iraq thwarting United Nations

By Barry Schweid · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 11:22 a.m.

UNITED NATIONS - Secretary of State Colin Powell, making his case that Iraq had evaded demands that it disarm, played an audio tape for the U.N. Security Council Wednesday between Iraqi military officers purportedly discussing hiding prohibited vehicles form weapons inspectors.

Bush leads solemn memorial for 7 Columbia astronauts

By Alyson Brodsy and Scott Lindlaw · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 12:25 a.m.

SPACE CENTER, Houston -- Led by President Bush, thousands of grieving space workers and their families, friends, neighbors and political leaders paid a solemn farewell Tuesday to the seven Columbia stronauts.

Saddam insists he does not want war

By Alyson Brodsy and Barry Renfrew · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 12:14 a.m.

LONDON -- In his first Western television interview in more than a decade, Saddam Hussein said the United States wants to conquer Iraq so it can "control the world" and insisted his regime does not have weapons of mass destruction.

WTC plans narrowed down to 2

By Alyson Brodsy and Karen Matthews · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 12:13 a.m.

NEW YORK -- Two designs that would put the tallest buildings in the world at the site of the World Trade Center were selected Tuesday as the finalists in the plan to redevelop ground zero. The plan from Berlin architect Daniel Libeskind calls for glassy, angular buildings clustered around the foundations of the fallen towers.